Frosticus

Sadly, holding out the cup in the bum emote is often more rewarding than facing Lusca. I'd love to have a dev come in and rationalize the reward rate on that foe.

If that's what you concluded then I either did a poor job explaining or you did a poor job reading. I'm willing to take responsibility, but I'm not really willing to get into an extensive conversation to justify my opinion. You can PM me if you like, but I don't think this thread is the place to hash this out. My expectations for a major expansion are consistent across all games though. Satisfying them within the confines of the specific structure of course varies.

For instance, just because "new areas to explore" is on my check list for an expansion to any game doesn't necessarily mean they have to put that in to make a satisfactory release. It just means something else will need to be elevated.

I think VEAT's opened the door for a multitude of combinations that currently aren't possible with any of the classic AT's and demonstrated with solid conviction that previous reservations about such pairings being overpowered are in fact not true.

Have VEAT's satisfied that itch? Not really considering fortunatas represent an AT direction of their own (high ranged damage+moderate control+armor). Banes represent an different AT direction (high melee damage+pets+buff/debuff+armor). And Crabs represent yet another (moderate ranged+pets+high armor). Fleshed out a Bane for instance would represent a single powerset choice within an entire AT and I'ld love to play an elemental melee damage dealer with elemental pets and elemental buff/debuff powers.

That said, I haven't really thought about it. It isn't my job any more than it is my job to design new costumes or zones. I'm sure the people that specialize in such things could come up with something if tasked with it. We are far from being able to create anything you want though, which suggests that one way to get closer is via a new AT. As mentioned, I was also hoping to get closer to that goal with more powerset options within our existing parameters too. But that isn't happening either.

Put it in another light. Before VEAT's were created someone could have asked the exact same question you just did. Another thought is we already have 4 AT's that are essentially the same premise of strong melee damage paired with strong survivability, yet they all play distinctly different. Different enough to warrant their own AT. I think that is an indication that if someone were to actually sit and try they could be pretty successful in the endeavor. I'm tempted to try, but honestly I feel at a great disconnect with the devs right now. To the point where if Jesus himself vouched for my work it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans.

the old days are today.

It still does those awesome things as long as you are ok with them all expiring when the rain stops.

I have a perma PA ill/cold (aka extreme recharge build) that has sleet on a 15.1 second recharge. Once you factor in animation time I can't keep the -res/def debuff on a target the entire time.

That would be fine if as Trick says, it was intended. But the power clearly states the -res/def debuff lasts 30 seconds.

It's also worth noting that the -rech/slow debuff also disappears at the end of the rain. If you use the power to keep things relatively clumped you may find it performing much worse than it should in addition to no longer decreasing their damage output through the -rech that is supposed to linger.

At the same time if at any point during the rain you knock the target away the debuffs work exactly like the power descriptions say. Which is to say, a lot better and longer.

I'm doubtful it is intended for the power to work better if you remove the enemy from the location you have used it. That would be an interesting approach to design. Especially when the power itself largely prevents things from escaping the rain in the first place. I suppose stranger things have happened though. Probably.

AT modifiers by and large take care of intra AT balance of a set. Outside of some small differences that fall outside of the modifiers, most sets are identical across the AT's that have them.

Was 8 new powersets too much to expect? Well it is certainly more than we are getting. That just means I have shifted my expectations of what should be in a major expansion to other areas. I'm definitely waiting with baited breath for a full features list. War Witch keeps telling me it is going to be legendary and she seems to imply it will blow CoV out of the water, so I'm excited for a very robust showing.

Yikes. At 4 new powersets (elec looking like mostly recycled animations/visual effects so far too) I'd already say this expansion is extremely light on new powerset options. 1 new set for each AT is the bare minimum of what should be expected in an expansion. That's kind up troubling that kin melee and elec control are getting "squeezed in".

To be totally honest when they announced an expansion I was expecting at least 2 new powersets for each AT (primary and secondary each) and was hoping for a new AT all together. Given the high amount of set sharing that already occurs I don't feel that is too high of an expectation as it would be 8 new powersets total (new blaster manipulation set, new buff/debuff set, new armor set, new dom assault set on top of the 4 already created) I'm just sad I can't actually make a "new" character if I've already tried out each unique primary and secondary once before.

Here's hoping elec control and kin melee are really really fun.

Yes I was agreeing with you.

While I think these ViDoc's are great for new players and so are things like the gamestop promotion the doubt I'm having isn't arising from those marketing materials it is arising from the question of how any potential new players are being exposed to these marketing materials.

For the most part it really seems like if you don't already know about CoX then nothing that is happening is going to change that. And if you already know about CoX and have passed on it for the last 6 years, is GR really going to change anything for you?

I think it will do very well in bringing some old subs back, but I'm awful worried about retention. The focus being on 1-20 means that people (even slow people) will move through it in like 7 days. Fast people will be through it that day. There is also the issue that 1-20 is oft considered a chore or PITA by many of the players because your powers are so underdeveloped and endurance is a major constrictor. Is 1-20 content going to hold those people until the next issue where the incarnate system is actually released? I know it will hold many of us. A lot of people playing this game right now will be here until it closes its doors.

Existing players that are already involved in the game get the nifty Fable-esque morality system and that's great for taking toons to the existing old content that we've had access to for years, but just not on some particular toons. However, I doubt that will have much impact on the subs that have left the game. That's not really new, or different for them, just more of the same, but with a different toon, which with our existing AT's you could already do with numerous different combinations. Is doing it all again with a brute really going to turn the tide? maybe. hopefully.

I don't mean to sound overly negative, but these are questions I've been asking myself as more and more info is released. I'm not doubting the ability of GR to pull in new players as I think it could do fine. I'm doubting the execution of a plan to put GR in a position to succeed in that goal, but thankfully there is still some time left to improve.

Well I don't know about that. He said, "now is the best time for new players to join"

Chief Wiggum: Did you flash your lights?
Eddie: Yes.
Chief Wiggum: Well, I'm fresh out of ideas.

Definitely agree

edit: 0:28 looks like the lightning field animation (though powersink uses this one too, the effect looks bigger than PS's and the mobs don't respond like they are being PS'd). Though I'm guessing (as above) it does a bit more than just drain/damage.

I'm not opposed to handing out low doses of -regen to some melee sets. It's not a major factor until you start giving it high numbers (like ~150%+). If you look at widows for instance they get a bit of -regen (iirc 25% on a couple powers). It's not a major factor, but does make things a bit smoother as the targets you affect (below high ranking foes) stop receiving ticks of health. It's nice if you hit something with a dot power and it doesn't recover some health running away and survive it.

I don't see -regen as a solution to any melee set problems, but as a layer in the process it could be a reasonably attractive tool.